Vomiting in cats?

[Tanyalita]

My cat does the same thing. She's very alert and she's been living for 13 years, and she used to throw up a WHOLE lot, but now only every once in a while. We never took her to the vet for it, but she seems to still be doing fine. I don't know what causes it, but I do know that if I feed her too many kitty treats or people food, she'll throw it up. And when I switch brands of food, she throws up a couple of times. But yeah, I couldn't really tell you exactly why she's doing it, 'cause I'm not an expert. Maybe you should take her to a different vet and get a second opinion.

 

[Poohbear246]

Thank you for your thoughts and help everyone! I'm bringing her to the vet this morning -- she threw up again this morning, so I gotta be honest it's not letting up -- and bringing a sample, as well as the IBS article. Say a prayer for us!

 

[loveliving]

you're poor cat! I hope she feels better soon It could be a combination of all the things you mentioned. For a few days I would have her stick with a pretty bland diet to see if that makes any difference. water, dry food with maybe a bit of warmed chicken broth. See if that helps-a lot of those canned foods have so many chemicals in them, so keeping it as simple as possible is your best bet. And definitely take the lil' one to a good vet again. Let them know that this has been occurring since Oct. and that you're rather concerned. Best of luck!

 

[Blank123]

I'll be praying, I hope everything works out this time

 

[Poohbear246]

We're back! I brought a sample of her "output" for the vet to examine, and he said that it was all hair in there. So since she has a history of IBS, what's happening is that her stomach can't process the amount of fur that she is ingesting (although a shorthair, her fur is very thick and she sheds conspicuously throughout the year), so the fur causes an obstruction that she can only puke up. So I have to groom her with a fine tooth comb to help her out. That makes sense, but why didn't they think of it months ago?! I never knew that shorthairs needed grooming. I feel like an idiot. But at least she is ok, and it really does make sense.

So I'll see if the extra grooming helps. He got a lot of loose fur out when he did it, I was shocked. If she is ingesting that much then no wonder! She's going to be on an anti-inflammatory and antibiotic for a while once again

Colleen

 

[Dagna]

oh my...that's pretty crazy. I've never worried about grooming my cats, but maybe I should consider it. I have shorthairs and never thought it was necessary. Learn something new everyday. I'm so glad that she's getting taken care of and the vet finally listened to you and explained the problem.

 

[Poohbear246]

Yeah, it never occured to me either, since I always read shorthairs didn't need grooming, they did it themselves. Certainly, Bonnie grooms a whole lot during the day. Perhaps bringing in the sample finally cleared it up for the vet since he could look and show me that there was a lot of hair in it, which would both explain and exacerbate the IBS problem. But now my question is, what do we do if the extra grooming doesn't work? Since it is clearly hairballs, is there anything that can be done if her stomach still has a problem? Because as you guys have said before, it can't be healthy for her to be throwing up like that all the time because she can't digest the hair... I guess we do just have ot take it one step at a time in this case, and see if the extra grooming helps.

 

[Blank123]

my cat has a problem with havng a lot of hairballs, and I've been giving him cat laxative twice a week, it seems to be helping to keep things under control.

 

[schooner]

I've had this same problem with my cat too. He threw up constantly until he bled. I called the vet's office. Since he was still playful, and not losing any weight, they suggested it was hairballs. Since he was NOT throwing up any hairballs at all...I doubted it, so I did change his food, and gave him hairball remedy. I kept at it until the symptoms were gone. It took a while. The only thing I can guess was the hairball(s) had lodged down further into the digestive system, and he was a bit constipated. My other Persian used to do this all of the time, and the hairballs are visible in the stool. They do not always throw them up. With enough time, and patience, the hairball problem went away, and my cat was returned to his regular food. It seems a whole lot more serious when they do not throw up the hairballs right away...and they are digested further down into their system.

 

[Poohbear246]

The Petromalt stuff that you get at the pet store? The doctor was going to give me something, but when he heard I used Petromalt, he seemed to think that was good enough...

 

[Poohbear246]

Hi Schooner! So I am doing the right thing, basically, giving her the Petromalt and keeping her on the vet food. I guess I just have to be patient, then. She is my first pet, so I never know how much is normal, you know? How often did you give the hairball remedy. When I told the doctor that another doctor told me to give the medicine once a day for a while *he* thought that would be too much over too long a time period because it causes kidney / liver problems!

 

[Poohbear246]

My cat does the same thing. She's very alert and she's been living for 13 years, and she used to throw up a WHOLE lot, but now only ev

Yeah my cat is the same way, she'll throw up, sniff at it and act like it's no big deal. However, she did end up having that enlarged small intestine, so I got worried. She has to take 4 doses of medicine a day....which means this is going to be a long couple of weeks! The only way she'll take it is in her food, but she'll only tolerate having her food spiked for maybe 5 days before she turns her nose up at it.

The last time we tried to give her medicine orally, not mixed in food was when she was 6 ms. Even at that time it took 3 people and we barely got it down!

 

[Blank123]

yeah I think petromalt is basically the same thing I give my cat just a different brand name.

 

[encouraging_angels1]

I had a cat, that kept vomitting her food up, Try water down wheetbix & very soggy rice, i fed her with a spoon, she HAD THROAT CANCER! you have to hold his head up at unnatural angel so your cat can swallow his food. She was alert, not very playful(but never has been) she was put down near christmas last year!
i would get a cancer assessment from your vet just to be on the safe side!
it could be a virus, or just an abses

 

[Poohbear246]

I had a cat, that kept vomitting her food up, Try water down wheetbix & very soggy rice, i fed her with a spoon, she HAD THROAT CANCER! you have to hold his head up at unnatural angel so your cat can swallow his food. She was alert, not very playful(but never has been) she was put down near christmas last year!
i would get a cancer assessment from your vet just to be on the safe side!
it could be a virus, or just an abses

That was a concern, especially since her lymph glands were enlarged at the time of the vist before last. But the doctor said that she had no other symptoms suggestive of cancer: no blood in her vomit or stools, etc. She doesn't have any trouble getting the food down and always has a big appetite. Plus her lymph glands are now fine. I'm definitely keeping on top of the situation! I'm so sorry about your cat!!

What is wheetbix?

 

[Dr. Holly]

Hey Poohbear,

I am praying for your kitty

One thing I will mention here as food for thought is something I have learned over the years with my cats.

Litter boxes; the unknown cause for many strange things cats do. If your kitty does not like the box she has, the litter you put in it, or the location of the box, she will vomit. Cats do this to release the toxins from their body. It is not a hairball, just vomit. Since they refuse to relieve themselves the normal way, they have to get the toxins out another way -- and this is how they do it.

It sounds like the diagnosis you have already gotten is correct, so this might not help, but just thought I would throw it out there for you, just in case.

God bless you & your kitty. I will be praying for a speedy recovery!

 

[Poohbear246]

Hi VAGal! Thank you! Well, she does use the litterbox, the doesn't refuse to or anything. The only time she ever did that was after we got her spayed, and had to use that yesterday's news litter instead of actual litter. She didn't like that too much...! She hasn't been going to the bathroom outside the litterbox, which with her is generally the sign that something has to be done about it.

 

[Poohbear246]

Hi VAGal! Thank you! Well, she does use the litterbox, the doesn't refuse to or anything. The only time she ever did that was after we got her spayed, and had to use that yesterday's news litter instead of actual litter. She didn't like that too much...! She hasn't been going to the bathroom outside the litterbox, which with her is generally the sign that something has to be done about it.

Thank you so much for your prayers!

 

[Dr. Holly]

Hi VAGal! Thank you! Well, she does use the litterbox, the doesn't refuse to or anything. The only time she ever did that was after we got her spayed, and had to use that yesterday's news litter instead of actual litter. She didn't like that too much...! She hasn't been going to the bathroom outside the litterbox, which with her is generally the sign that something has to be done about it.

Thank you so much for your prayers!

You are most welcome for my prayers I do hope that this mess gets cleared up real soon & your kitty comes back to new in no time.

Yeah, as you said, cats tend to let us know when their litter is not hitting the mark Sometimes I have noticed however that cats will still go in the litter box, but actually vomit after coming out...as if to tell us...*gag* that's nasty! They're funny creatures. That's for sure!

Blessings to your and your little baby.

 

[Poohbear246]

You are most welcome for my prayers I do hope that this mess gets cleared up real soon & your kitty comes back to new in no time.

Yeah, as you said, cats tend to let us know when their litter is not hitting the mark Sometimes I have noticed however that cats will still go in the litter box, but actually vomit after coming out...as if to tell us...*gag* that's nasty! They're funny creatures. That's for sure!

Blessings to your and your little baby.

Wow, I never thought of that before. I keep track of the vomiting in relation to her last meal, but never in relation to when she is using the litter box. Thanks so much, I'll look out for that!!